BENINDY: We will continue to live in hope and in righteous anger, with courage, with long- and short-range planning and with a persistence faithful to the constitution, to those we love and to our moral convictions…
The Benicia Independent joins the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in this hopeful message
In case you had any doubt, we are the American Civil Liberties Union. And we’re not moving to Canada.
So, rest assured that when you target immigrants, dissidents, and your political opponents – we will challenge you in the courts, at state legislatures, and in the streets.
Surely, you remember the landmark lawsuits we won against you on family separation, the U.S. Census, and immigrants’ rights – some of which were decided by judges you appointed.
During your last presidency, we brought 434 legal actions, including 250 lawsuits against your administration’s anti-civil liberties agenda.
We also mobilized the power of our more than 1 million card-carrying members into the streets, at airports, and in state capitals.
We’ve developed a comprehensive roadmap to defend our rights beginning on day one. We’re not new to this.
At the ACLU, we play the long game. We’ve been around for 105 years and seen 19 presidents come and go.
That’s why any attempt to roll back the nation’s civil liberties on our watch will be hard fought and met with the full power of our resistance.
Steadfast and determined to make ours a more perfect union, we remain,
The Solano County Registrar of Voters released Unofficial Results as of 10:43 PM on election day. As of that time, estimated unprocessed ballots still to count: Est. 76,500. Note that the ROV can still receive valid ballots by mail until November 12th, if postmarked by Election Day. Following are Benicia results:
Janny Manasse 62.9%, Kashanna Harmon-Lee 37.1%Steve Young 65.7%, Kevin Kirby 34.3%
Measure F: 61.8% yes, 38.2% no. Measure G: 53.6% no, 46.4% yes. Measure H: 58.2% no, 41.8% yes.
MAGA MORNING. Here are four poems, sharing my first thoughts and struggles with this morning’s news. How are you coping with the return to power of the Donald and his backers? See also “Looking Forward” below. – Roger Straw
MORNING AFTER (6:29 AM)
I don’t want to know.
Don’t tell me.
Dread in the morning.
I can’t sleep.
All indications we have arrived at a Fascist era,
The election all but called,
I turn off the tv.
I can’t bear to look.
Don’t tell me.
I don’t want to know.
MORE TRUMP (7:19 AM)
Sympathy doesn’t heal
Encouragement isn’t enough
How will we live in a Fascist state?
ON THE NEWS (7:32 AM)
On the news of Trump’s return
My sister in Canada sent a single word, Sad.
I replied,
Devastating.
Don’t know what to do.
Afraid.
I woke up uninformed but suspicious of the outcome
We couldn’t bear to stay awake for the tv analyses
The endless parsing of Lackawanna County
And comparisons of turnout and margins in years past
We shut off the tv and went to bed.
To bed not pretending, just not ready to deal
To bed
Maybe that’s the only place of security
In the face of impending doom.
On the news of Trump’s return
And even more so,
On the news of our nation’s willing descent into the pit of Fascism
Of my neighbor’s Take Us Back flag, victorious,
Of the loss of the all-important US Senate,
Of the marginal swing of the US House,
Of 4 more years of Presidential pouting
And posturing
And attack
And race baiting
And outright racism and misogyny and homophobia
Of losses to come, losses without number
Of dark days…
On such news, it’s hard to summon courage
To bed is not secure, to bed where dreams will tell the truth
Truth spoken, not to power, but to the darkness
Into the void we go.
The swirl, the black hole.
Tell me there’s more.
WAKE-UP CALL (8:08 AM)
Ok, so life goes on.
On the morning after we learned the truth,
The truth that we are still and again the United States of White Men,
The truth that even the threat of dictatorial power and criminality
Can’t override the fundamental fear of gender parity,
Can’t overcome the reality of racism,
On this morning after,
After our shock,
After our disbelief,
After all the twists and turns of the five stages of grief,
Life goes on.
So where does life go?
When life goes on in a turned-back America,
When life continues under fascist power,
When life plows ahead regardless…
Where is our Dr. King?
Where is our Susan B. Anthony?
Who will wake the nation?
Who will organize on campuses
And call the People to demonstrate
A vision of freedom and goodness and light?
A wake-up call
On the morning of our nation’s backslide
On the morning of the reaffirmation of sexism and white supremacy
On November 6, 2024
A wake-up call.
Who will wake us up, America?
You must be logged in to post a comment.